Worldwide Sports News

Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — gives their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.

Fantable Questions of the Week

Q1: If the Suns stay at 47 in the draft, they’re most likely going to get a developmental player with identifiable flaws. What player flaw would be the biggest red flag to you?

Ashton: This is a player question, and the easy answer is size or ability to see the court. The NBA combine has taken the measurements, but many of the top picks opted not to play in the 5-on-5 play.

Which leads me to my next point, the answer to the question. The biggest flaw is the player’s character. Yeah, they had the interviews with mealy-mouthed or just plain stupid questions, but is the player just a little too big for their britches? I am talking about the type that thinks it can make an impact on the league immediately, when very few rookies or even second-year players can. You have to be humble and hungry enough to organically grow within a system. And when that system eventually trades you, shrug it off and realize you are making serious money as an adult playing a child’s game.

Voita: I’ve spent the past week reviewing prospect videos, looking at scouting reports, and formulating who I want the Suns to take if they stay at 47 or decide to move up. And without a doubt, the biggest red flag to me is basketball IQ and the ability to process the game.

I think that’s what has made Oso Ighodaro so valuable, his ability to process and react. He understands what’s happening around him and knows how to make the right decision. That’s a skill that translates.

When you get down to the second round, you’re going to find players who might not be the most athletic. They might not shoot well. They might be liabilities on defense. They might not have ideal size. But if they don’t have the ability to process the game, everything else is a wasted skill. Athleticism only takes you so far. Size only takes you so far. Shooting only takes you so far. If you can’t read what’s happening on the court and react accordingly, those tools become much harder to maximize.

That’s why, as I’ve gone through these prospects, basketball IQ has become the trait I value most. Because if a player can process the game, there’s at least a foundation to build on.

Rod: There are some red flags that I’d say are more positional than others (ie, a center who is a poor rebounder is much more of a problem than a PG who is a poor rebounder), but overall, I’m going with low BBIQ. Unfortunately, that is also one of the things that can’t really be measured, and teams will just have to estimate based on past, pre-NBA performance and interviews. A player can have some of the greatest skills in the world, but if he can’t figure out how to best use them, he’s not going to be a strong asset to the team.

Q2: If the Suns were to trade one of Grayson Allen or Royce O’Neale in the offseason, which would you prefer that they keep?

Ashton: Let me think, if I say trade Grayson Allen, then all the Duke fans on the board will hound me. If I say trade Royce O’Neale, then all the “size matters” fans will hound me.

Put me in the category that “size matters” (it fits 😉 and keep RO. GA is just too often injured for my taste, though he has the clearer upside. But if I am being honest, with all the trade speculation going on, I actually put a higher percentage that both will be packaged for some unnamed asset. Maybe the desert heat is getting to me.

Voita: I’d prefer to keep Grayson Allen. Perhaps that’s me being contrarian. I still think he has a lot of good basketball left in him, and his skill set is one the Suns could use coming off the bench. Yes, he can shoot, but he can also facilitate and get to the rim. There’s more to his game than simply standing behind the three-point line waiting for kick-outs.

I also don’t know if I can go through another season of watching Royce O’Neale become a turnstile on defense.

If Royce is gone, there’s more opportunity for Rasheer Fleming to earn starting minutes and work through everything that comes with that role. That’s another point in Grayson’s favor in my book. Yes, he makes more money. But if you keep him around and he has a good season, he becomes a much more valuable asset next offseason. That’s why, if I’m choosing between the two, I’m keeping Grayson.

Rod: I’d keep Royce over Grayson for two reasons. First, he’s on a cheaper contract. Second, he’s much less injury-prone. Although I think Grayson is the more talented player overall, the biggest difference between the two is simply availability to me.

Q3: I read some speculation that, unless Fleming, Dunn, and/or Maluach prove ready to start this fall, the Suns’ starting lineup could be Booker, Green, Goodwin, Brooks, and Williams (or Ighodaro). What are your thoughts on this starting lineup?

Ashton: I am good with it. I stated last week in this space to just run it back and keep it below the repeater tax. Of course, someone has to go. That may very well be CG (that sucks) or Mark Williams, which makes Oso the starter at center. Meh, but it is what it is. I would prefer the veteran, but I think he is not taking the qualifying offer and is taking his skills to another team that is willing to pay more.

Do the Suns lose more games? ESPN has projected as such (10th in the West). This should not surprise anyone, as that is about where I have them as well. Anything above that is another good and surprising year.

Voita: It’s not ideal, but I would much rather have that lineup than one that starts Collin Gillespie.

Goodwin might not have the ideal size for the position, but you’re also not asking him to facilitate the offense the way you would with Gillespie. That’s important because it prevents you from once again running out three-guard lineups, something we’ve seen enough of over the past few seasons. If Goodwin is your starting small forward, he at least gives you an added presence on the glass. Rebounding matters, and that’s one area where he can provide value despite being undersized.

So while I wouldn’t call it the ideal starting lineup, and I’d still love to see Dillon Brooks playing small forward next season, it’s a lineup I find acceptable. Especially if the goal is to continue to develop Rasheer Fleming. The more minutes Fleming gets at power forward, the more opportunities he’ll have to work through the growing pains that come with the position. If the organization truly believes he’s part of the future, then those reps matter.

Rod: First off, I hope the person who wrote that was wrong. As much as I like Goodie, I think his best role on this team is coming off the bench. My preferred starters (for now) would be Book, Green, Brooks, Fleming, and Williams (if he’s still with the team). If Williams is no longer on the roster, Oso certainly has the most experience, and I wouldn’t mind him starting, but I’d want to see a LOT of Khaman off the bench too…like a near 50/50 split in court time for the two of them, with the one playing the best that night finishing.

As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!

APPLE POD:

---

Suns Trivia/History

On June 20, 1969, the Suns officially signed Connie Hawkins as a free agent after the Suns had won a league-sponsored coin toss over the Seattle SuperSonics to determine who got the rights to him. Hawkins had been playing for the ABA’s Pittsburgh Pipers the previous season after having been unjustly banned from the NBA. Hawkins had the ban rescinded after suing the NBA, which then lifted it and settled out of court.

On June 20, 1993, the Suns were down 3 games to 2 in the NBA Finals but led the Chicago Bulls 98-96 in the final seconds of the 4th quarter. The Bulls had the ball and, although Westphal’s sole instruction on the play was for none of the players to double-team any of the Bulls (even Michael Jordan), Danny Ainge left John Paxson to try and either steal the ball or foul Horace Grant, who had missed all five of his shot attempts in the game and wasn’t a good crunch-time free-throw shooter. Grant saw Paxson alone 25 feet from the basket and fired a perfect pass, and Paxson then made a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 99-98 lead. A last-second shot attempt by Phoenix’s Kevin Johnson was blocked by Grant, and the Bulls won the series 4-2.

On June 20, 2021, the Suns defeated the LA Clippers 120-114 in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. In this game, Devin Booker got his first-ever triple-double (regular season or playoffs) with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.

On June 21, 1972, KTAR radio hired Al McCoy to call Phoenix Suns games beginning with the 1972-73 season, replacing Joe McConnell, who had called the Suns for 2 years. McCoy was well-known in the Valley (since 1957), and previously was the voice of the Phoenix Roadrunners hockey.

On June 21, 1987, the Suns traded Ed Pinckney and a 1988 2nd round draft pick to the Sacramento Kings for Eddie Johnson. In his 3 and a half season with Phoenix, EJ averaged 18.4 ppg, averaged 36.3% from three, and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 1988-89. He was the first of four Suns players to win the award. The others were Danny Manning (1997-98), Rodney Rogers (1999-00), and Leandro Barbosa (2006-07).

On June 21, 2018, the Suns drafted Deandre Ayton with the 1st pick of the 2018 NBA Draft. They later drafted Zhaire Smith with the 16th pick and promptly traded Smith and a 2021 1st round draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Mikal Bridges, whom the Sixers had selected earlier with the 10th pick.

On June 24, 1998, 2nd-year player Steve Nash was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Pat Garrity, Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, and a 1999 1st-round draft pick (Shawn Marion was later selected).

On June 25, 1993, after 5 seasons with Phoenix, the Suns released 34-year-old power forward Tom Chambers. Chambers was a three-time All-Star with the Sun, averaged 20.6 points (7th best All-Time) and 6.6 rebounds per game, and his 7,817 point total ranks 12th on the list of All-Time Suns scorers. His 27.17 ppg average in 1989-90 is still the best single-season ppg average in franchise history.

On June 25, 2015, the Suns drafted Devin Booker in the 1st round (13th pick) of the 2015 NBA Draft.

On June 26, 1996, the Phoenix Suns used the 15th pick in the NBA Draft to select Steve Nash. Upon hearing the draft announcement, Suns fans booed in disapproval of the (then) relatively unknown player. This was because, despite his impressive college accomplishments, Nash had not played in one of the major college conferences.

---

Important Future Dates

June 23 – NBA Draft First Round, 8 ET (ABC/ESPN)
June 24 – NBA Draft Second Round, 8 ET (ESPN)
June 30 – Teams can begin negotiations with all free agents
July 1 – Official start of the 2026-27 league year and moratorium period
July 6 – Moratorium ends, official free agent contract signings can begin
July 9-19 – NBA 2K Summer League 2026 in Las Vegas
Late September (dates TBD) – NBA Training Camps open

One of the great joys about being a fan of a team is sharing the experience with other fans of your team. That is why many of us wear our team’s gear around town – a “Go Spurs” greeting from a total stranger who sees your Spurs hat means that the two of you are no longer total strangers, at least for that moment. And that moment can becomes minutes, or more, if the two of you turn that greeting into a conversation. Most of you reading this live much closer to San Antonio than I do here in LA, so my “Go Spurs” encounters are few and far between – and that much more special. Last winter I had one on a bus coming back from skiing in Park City with my super-daughter. I also still remember one in Cancun, Mexico where a guy in a #21 Duncan jersey was thrilled to run into someone who wrote for Pounding the Rock.

That shared connection is why fans gather at each other’s houses, or at outdoor watch parties, or at the home stadium when the team is on the road to watch on the Jumbotron. Of course, best of all is being at the game itself, even if some participants in the front row spend the game looking down at their phones, or even worse, fall asleep in their luxury suites. If all goes extremely well, all the fans of one special team get to gather one last time for that season with a victory parade.

Knicks fans were the lucky ones who had their victory parade. Apparently, two million fans attended the parade. Two million! There were more people at the Knicks’ victory parade than the entire population of the cities of twenty-five of the NBA’s thirty teams.

Perhaps because New York is the media capital of the country, the media was all-in celebrating the Knicks victory, whether on the national nightly news, morning talk shows, or late night TV. Of course, that the Knicks had not won since 1973 mattered too. That was a long time ago: The top song of 1973 was “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” by Tony Orlando and Dawn. The highest-grossing movies were The Exorcist and The Sting, and the most popular TV shows were All in the Family and The Waltons. Put another way, the car I drove in law school was a used maroon 1974 Chevy Vega.

That car had not been built the last time the Knicks won the NBA Championship. Neither that car or I attended the Knicks’ victory parade.

I watched the games at home with friends, family and food – all very good, except for the outcomes of four of the five games. But while those outcomes, and the overall outcome, were very much not good, sharing those games with others brought the same sense of camaraderie that sports fans love to share. Long-time Laker season-ticket holder Mike jumped on my Spurs bandwagon early, and sat next to me for the games talking out what “we” (the Spurs) need to do in the next quarter, the next possession of (after a loss) the next game.

Two women who sit near my office at work would say “Go Spurs” as I left early to get home in time for that night’s tip-off – and we all then avoided talking about Game Four until very late in the afternoon the day after. A long-time friend called me near the end of the series to tell me that even though his mother and the rest of his family were from New York and Knicks fans, he was rooting for my Spurs because he wanted me to be happy. That meant a lot.

Many post-series conversations with sympathetic friends ended with how bright the Spurs’ future is. And while we all recognize that the future is not promised to anyone, I do like the “future is bright” mindset. Known as The Lil Ol Band from Texas, ZZ Top sings:

Things are going great, and they’re only getting better
I’m doing all right, getting good grades
The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades
I gotta wear shades, I gotta wear shades
I gotta wear shades

Other end-of-season thoughts

• The outcome drives the narrative. Jalen Brunson was an easy choice for Finals MVP.  And people are praising him as a “winner”, with the Knicks’ championship as proof.  But the outcome drives the narrative. Most would agree that two plays that turned the Finals were Victor Wembanyama’s pass to Stephon Castle’s back at the end of Game Two and OG Anunoby’s game-winning tip-in to win Game Four. Both of those came off misses by the Finals MVP — Brunson missed a runner with the score tied that led to Victor’s rebound, followed by his disastrous turnover.  People forget that after the ensuing foul, Brunson bricked the first free throw before making the second to give the Spurs the chance to win the game on their last shot — which would have made Brunson the goat for the missed free throw.  On the OG tip-in, Brunson fired up a long three-pointer that missed. If that brick had gone anywhere else than the perfect volleyball-like set for OG, Brunson’s ill-advised three would have been the story. And if both of those plays had gone differently, the Spurs would have headed back to San Antonio with a 3-1 lead, with all the momentum and confidence to finish the Finals at home.  But those plays broke the other way, resulting in Brunson rightfully winning the Finals MVP.  The outcome drives the narrative. 
• A bit more on Brunson.  His output in Game Five was historical, scoring 45 of the Knicks’ 94 points.  He took 27 shots and had 3 assists.  (I have played with guys like that.) Brunson’s game joins the list of all-time memorable close-out performances.  These include Magic Johnson’s 42 point, 15 rebound and 7 assist game in his rookie year against a powerful 76ers team led by Julius “Dr. J” Irving; Michael Jordan’s 45 point game against the Utah Jazz in the Bulls’ 87-86 clincher in 1998, including MJ’s game-winning shot over Bryon Russell (after MJ subtly shoved Russell away); Tim Duncan’s 2003 near quadruple double (21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 blocks in Game Six against the New Jersey Nets, no, they have not always been the Brooklyn Nets), which the Spurs won by the ugly score of 88-77; and most recently, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 50 points (out of a team total of 105), 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks, on 16 for 25 from the floor, and his stunning 17 for 19 on free throws by, frankly, a bad free throw shooter.  In honor of the Knicks, let’s also include Walt Frazier’s Game Seven win over the Lakers in 1970: 36 points, 19 assists (an NBA Finals Game 7 record), 7 boards, 5 steals (unofficial), 12-for-17 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. 
• Now we need to consider the elephant in the room, or more appropriately perhaps, the giraffe in the room. Have NBA fans soured a bit on young Victor Wembanyama? (Spurs fans have not.)  The two million Knicks fans at the victory parade spent the last two weeks rooting against Victor. As mentioned above, the New York media is also very influential.  And the narrative of Victor shoving little Brunson away ignored Brunson’s grab of the jersey which led to the shove. Coming after the elbow of Naz Reid (again after several uncalled fouls), the inadvertent elbow to KAT’s neck and the non-called “landing zone” foul on Brunson. Victor leading the team off the court without congratulating the winners did not sit well with many, including this ex-coach. Victor remains a thoughtful, funny, intense, fascinating and extremely compelling and competitive young man.  I hope he does some soul-searching about both his game and his reaction to frustration.  I am sure that Spurs legends, including Pop and the Great Duncan will be more than happy to assist. 
• Often a game, or a series, just comes down to making shots.  In the Finals, the Knicks’ top four scorers (Brunson, OG, KAT and Bridges) combined to shoot 41% from three.  The Spurs’ top four scorers (Victor, Harper, Castle and Fox) combined to shoot 27% from three. Yikes.  Even with good shooting from Vassel and Champagnie, the Spurs still only shot 34% from three as a team — worse than the 40% by notorious bad shooter Josh Hart. in the Finals.

Some commentators have compared the 2025-2026 Knicks to the 2014 Redemption Finals Spurs’ championship.  The comparison is based on (1) both teams “putting  it all together” for a magical 5-game Finals victory and (2) a big scoring margin throughout the playoffs. From my recap of the Redemption Finals in 2014:

“After winning the NBA Championship Sunday night, several Spurs went out of their way to say that this wonderful season, and the way they dominated the Finals, made last year’s loss OK. Essentially, last year’s defeat gave them a common pain. That common pain bound the Spurs together in a common goal. They decided to do everything they could to make this season’s ending different. Perhaps included in that was the desire to play so well that the Spurs would not lose on the sort of freak plays that led to the Game Six loss last year – which means not allowing close games. As a result of that common goal, this year’s Spurs crushed teams in the playoffs. It takes 16 wins to become NBA Champions. In 12 of the Spurs 16 wins, the margin of victory was 15 or more. The Spurs essentially eliminated the margin of error that leads to close losses. One missed shot, funky bounce or bad call (or one Ray Allen step back three from the corner) doesn’t matter as much when you are winning by 20 points.”

I would love to see the 2026-27 Spurs take that same attitude. This season, Spurs and their fans really enjoyed the journey, but the team just missed reaching the destination.  Next season, the Spurs hope to again enjoy the journey, and then reach the destination.  

Finally, as is my tradition, like “One Shining Moment” at the end of March Madness, I will end this season with a list of Favorite Memories. I hope these Favorite Memories will sustain me (and you) during the barren wasteland of the NBA offseason — some from the distant past, some from the recent present. Upon further reflection, many of these are both Favorite Memories and things I look forward to seeing again when NBA play begins anew.

• Michael Cooper in a defensive stance,
• The Joker triple doubling,
• The late great Jerry West dribbling hard right and pulling up for a clutch jumper,
• The Spurs Beautiful Gaming the Miami Heat off the floor in the 2014 Redemption Finals,
• Robert Horry spotting up in the last minute of a playoff game,
• DannyGreen!! snuffing out an opponent’s fast break,
• Wilt finger-rolling,
• Dylan Harper attacking the hoop, finishing with either hand,
• Steph Curry sprinting around the court, using multiple screens, looking for a split-second opening to catch, shoot and make a three — from distance!,
• Magic Johnson running the middle dishing this way, wait, no, that way,
• Patty Mills sprinting over to help a teammate to their feet after taking a charge,
• Rick Barry under-handing,
• Giannis Euro-stepping,
• The Oui Frenchman tear-dropping,
• Dirk step-backing,
• My Man Manu Ginobili dunking all over Bosh,
• Earl the Pearl spin-dribbling,
• A Shooter heating up, with the crowd joining in,
• Stephon Castle defending,
• Pistol Pete behind-the-backing,
• The Great Duncan blocking a shot, controlling the ball, and throwing the long bounce outlet pass,
• Dr. J dunking,
• Victor pointing at the rim for a lob without needing to use the words “throw it up there”,
• And in honor of the NBA champion New York Knicks and their two million fans, enjoying each other’s company one last time as the long season ends, celebrating.

While this summer has long been circled as one of change for the Lakers, the list of players they’re interested in retaining from last year’s roster is growing.

Even on the heels of a second straight 50-win season, the playoffs made it clear the Lakers, as currently constructed, are not close to contending for a title. It’s with that in mind that an eyebrow might be raised at the multiple reports now indicating the team has interest in bringing players back from last year’s team.

In a recent article for ESPN, Dave McMenamin reported that the Lakers are interested in re-signing two guards, and playoff heroes, from last season.

The Lakers are interested in retaining Marcus Smart and sharpshooter Luke Kennard, sources told ESPN.

This comes a handful of days after Dan Woike of The Athletic reported that the team also has interest in retaining Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, too.

Now, all of this interest doesn’t mean they have to bring these players back. And it’s entirely possible, and perhaps likely, that their interest is dependent on other things happening or in the right situation. Maybe they have interest in bringing back Smart if he picks up his option. Or maybe they have interest in Kennard if they miss on some other targets first.

In a vacuum, there are plenty of reasons to bring these players back. All of them, at some point or another, had a moment this season or even during the playoffs that helped the purple and gold win games.

Specifically, when it comes to Smart and Kennard, they stepped up in the first round against the Rockets. Kennard was unbelievable in the Game 1 win while Smart’s experience was ever-apparent and valuable throughout the first round.

At the same time, both were exposed as the postseason went along. Kennard became less effective with each passing game. The limitations of Smart’s game and the downsides of him being forced into such a prominent role were readily apparent against the Thunder, too.

Both are positive role players, but both have clear ceilings on how much they can contribute when the games really start mattering. And that’s the problem present for the role players the Lakers reportedly have interest in retaining.

How many of them can you envision playing in an NBA Finals? Or even the Western Conference Finals? That can’t be the sole requirement for players the team signs, but it has to be part of the calculation, and not an insignificant part of it.

It’s unlikely the Lakers are interested in bringing them all back as that would go against the whole idea of reshaping the roster this summer. But there should be some strong discussions about how many of them are worth re-signing.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The Brooklyn Nets are looking to add some new, young, talent in a few days. It’s only fair that they lost a dash of it this past week. After all, they were not only the youngest team in the NBA this past season. Sean Marks has said they were the youngest roster on any NBA roster in 20 years!

E.J. Liddell, who appeared in 26 games for Brooklyn during the 2025-26 season, officially signed a two-year deal with Greek club Aris B.C. who made a big deal of signing the 6’6” 25-year-old. Having signed a two-way deal with the Nets this past autumn, he was set to be a restricted free agent this offseason. Instead, he’s opted to hit the road early.

“Thank you Brooklyn and Long Island for another year in this league,” Liddell wrote in an Instagram post in mid April. “It’s been a year full of growth and lessons that I will carry for the rest of my life. One thing I can say I learned is that through habits & discipline you forge a character rich with courage and peace.”

He’s unlikely to be the only one of the younger Nets from last season to move on. There were reports this past week from two NBA cap mavens, Keith Smith and Yossi Gozlan, that the Nets will likely pass on team options for Malachi Smith (Liddell’s high school and NBA teammate) as well as Day-Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams and Josh Minott, saving cap space but retaining their free agent rights, which would permit them to re-sign or even extend them later in the Summer. Expect to see word on those decisions days after the second round takes place at Barclays on Wednesday. Next Sunday is the deadline for Sharpe and Williams’ team options, a day later it’s Minott’s turn.

Timing, as we’re about to find out again, plays a critical part in free agency, who can sign when and how. Gozlan, for example suggested the Nets could use the $9.4 million MLE which works out to $29.5 million over three, to sign Sharpe. Liddell, being older and with less NBA experience, is different. Similarly, we don’t know what the Nets are planning with fellow two-way, the 27-year-old Tyson Etienne.

The New Orleans Pelicans originally drafted Liddell out of Ohio State in 2022. He bounced from Atlanta and then to Phoenix as a portion of the Dejounte Murray trade. He spent the 2024 season with the Chicago Bulls organization as a two-way before linking up Brooklyn this past season.

While the Nets likely never saw Liddell as a long-term building like the other youngsters they currently have rostered, he had a handful of inspiring moments during his Brooklyn tenure. Starting all of the team’s final five games this past season, he averaged 18.4/5.8/1.8 and hit a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds on April 9th vs Indiana.

The Nets have plenty of flexibility — there’s that word again — in building the 2026-27 roster. To begin with if they do decline team options on those four, they will have around $50 million in cap space to work with. As noted they have the Room MLE and a lot of smaller deals. They currently have 15 players under contract at the moment, including seven of whom are likely to be on rookie deals making a total of $35.1 million or around 21.3% of the salary cap.

Over the last five years, the Knicks have only made six draft picks. They’ve routinely kicked the can down the road for future flexibility and trade pick after pick to bolster a squad that eventually went on to win an NBA championship.

Four of those six draft picks came in 2024. Pacôme Dadiet was picked 25th, Tyler Kolek was picked 34th, and Kevin McCullar Jr. was picked 56th. As the draft came to a close, the Knicks decided to go with another international player, this time a big man, to provide depth.

Little did they know he’d be getting important minutes in the NBA Finals in Year 2.

Ariel Hukporti was born on April 12, 2002, in Stralsund, Germany, on the shore of the Baltic Sea to Togolese parents. Like many European kids, his first love was soccer, but he quickly outgrew the game due to his rapid growth as a kid and his displeasure with being stuck on defense. Standing nearly six feet tall before even turning 10, he started playing basketball at age 11.

He played with several youth teams and gained interest from several premier Bundesliga clubs, parlaying that into representing Germany on an international stage at the FIBA U16 and U18 European Championships from 2017-19. In 2018, he won a gold medal at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, a biannual tournament that’s treated as a U18 World Championship due to FIBA’s lack of a tournament of their own. He started his professional career that summer, signing with Riesen Ludwigsburg.

He spent his two years there as a bench player, slowly earning more time in 2019-20 while gaining notoriety by heading to America to play at the 2020 Basketball Without Borders camp in Chicago during All-Star Weekend, winning MVP of a camp that also consisted of Josh Giddey, Bennedict Mathurin, and Joshua Primo.

During the pandemic, Hukporti decided to leave Germany to sign with Nevėžis Kėdainiai out in Lithuania for the 2020-21 season. He briefly considered entering the 2021 draft as an early entry, but withdrew during the process.

After a year there, he went to Australia to join Melbourne United of the NBL. All of these press releases talk about Hukporti as this big NBA prospect, and at age 19, he was in a great situation to go out and put himself firmly on NBA Draft radars with a strong year in the NBL.

He averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds across 27 games in his first year there, but disaster struck in the following preseason, where he tore his Achilles tendon. Sidelined for a whole season, he was put behind the 8-ball when he returned in 2023-24, but he improved considerably and finally entered the 2024 NBA Draft.

Being 22 with a recent Achilles injury, his stock was low, nearly slipping all the way out of the second round. In the chaos of Leon Rose’s wheeling and dealing on draft night, the Knicks traded the No. 51 pick for $1 million and the No. 58 pick, which became Hukporti.

As an older prospect, there was a degree of expecting a high enough floor that he would be able to play relatively quickly. He impressed in Summer League heading into his rookie year, but entered fourth (fifth?) on the depth chart. Only being on a two-way deal didn’t help.

Fortunately for him, injuries to Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa opened an opportunity for him to get some run, as he and another former No. 58 pick, Jericho Sims, would compete for the backup center spot. While he played in garbage time in the first two games, his first chance to play real minutes came on October 28 against the Cavs, when Karl-Anthony Towns battled foul trouble. His first real highlight was sadly erased by a ref’s whistle.

pic.twitter.com/I1e4XMeIVq

— Strickland Vids (@StricklandVids) October 29, 2024

He’d get another chance in mid-November against the Nets, playing 30 minutes with Towns injured and putting up 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and four blocks.

Outside of those early cameos that put him on the radar, his chances would be limited. Achiuwa returned in November, and despite Sims being traded at the deadline, the impending return of Robinson was always going to put a cap on his playing time. A torn meniscus in late February ended his season, but he had turned heads in a way no other rookie on the team did.

James Dolan made a rare appearance in the Knicks’ locker room to congratulate Ariel Hukporti on his minutes in the win over the Rockets last night, per @Krisplashed

Hukporti: “I was actually quite surprised because he never actually comes… but it was good to hear from him.” pic.twitter.com/qsevTtZQTQ

— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) February 4, 2025

Entering 2025-26, Hukporti was firmly entrenched as the team’s third center and even earned the Opening Night start in October due to injuries to Robinson and Josh Hart. Throughout the season, he’d be the next man up on back-to-backs and bide his time in blowouts. He had occasional flashes, including a 6-point, 7-rebound, 3-block performance against Orlando in early December and an 8-point, 16-rebound, 4-block performance against Atlanta in January.

His best performances were usually reserved for garbage time or in blowout wins, but he was tasked with staying ready. Throughout the Knicks’ playoff run, they had to battle constant foul-trouble concerns with Towns facing guys like Joel Embiid and Victor Wembanyama, and Robinson’s free-throw woes, which allowed Hukporti to enter 10 games and play 75 total minutes, ranking 11th on the roster.

He was +22 in 17 minutes in Game 1 against Philly. He played a seven-minute stint in a fully competitive Game 2. He didn’t play much against Cleveland or in the first three games against San Antonio, but he was needed soon enough.

In Game 4, KAT picked up two fouls in under a minute. He would be limited to just nine minutes in the first half, forcing Hukporti and Jeremy Sochan to pick up the slack, with Robinson not conditioned to play extended minutes. His 3:27 stint wasn’t productive, but the team won his minutes in a horrendous first half that gave way to immortality.

In the potential clincher in Game 5, Hukporti was again called upon in the third quarter with Towns back in foul trouble and the looming threat of the Hack-a-Mitch. With the Knicks down 14 in the third quarter and in danger of fully punting the game away, the second-year center flew in from out of nowhere to swat Luke Kornet at the rim.

ARIEL HUKPORTI with a great block on Luke Kornet alley-oop attempt (with replays) pic.twitter.com/WAGTiGepMs

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) June 14, 2026

Did that possession change immediately result in something? No, but the lead never grew to the 16-point mark it would’ve reached if Kornet dunked that. It was the first big momentum shift in a second-half comeback that will go down in franchise history.

That’s what Hukporti’s contribution was to this championship. He always stayed ready. He found a way to make an impact when needed for brief stretches in big games against big-time players. That’s all that’s asked for out of your third-string center, and with Robinson’s pending free agency and second apron concerns, maybe he’ll parlay it into future playing time.

Congrats, Huk!

–

(P&T will be doing player-by-player article tributes over the next few weeks to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)

Depending on how the board falls, Tennessee center Felix Okpara could be available when New York is on the clock late in the 2026 NBA Draft. Should the Knicks consider him with their 55th selection?

The Basics

• School: Tennessee (transferred from Ohio State)
• Position: Center
• Height: 6’10”
• Weight: 237 lbs
• Age: 22 (April 20, 2004)
• 2025-26 Stats: 8.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 0.4 SPG, 59.7% FG, 63.5% FT
• Projected Draft Range: Late second round to undrafted

The Numbers

Okpara spent four seasons carving out a clear identity as a defensive center. He began his career at Ohio State, transferred to Tennessee for his junior season, and became one of the Volunteers’ most reliable interior defenders during their run to the Elite Eight, earning a place in last season’s SEC All-Defense team.

His box-score production wasn’t pleasing to the spreadsheet, but his role explains everything about it. Okpara averaged 10.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a senior while shooting 61.1% inside the arc. Across four college seasons, he averaged 6.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, always working as a rim protector, screener, lob threat and defensive backbone.

Skills That Pay the Bills

• Rim Protection: Okpara’s best NBA skill is his ability to contest shots. He has the length, timing and verticality to bother drivers and force tough finishes around the basket.
• Pick-and-Roll Defense: He is not purely a drop-coverage big. Okpara can hedge, step out, slide his feet and survive in space. His mobility gives coaches more coverage options than the standard deep-drop center.
• Screening and Rolling: Okpara sets hard screens, uses his frame well and dives quickly to the rim. He finished 69 dunks as a senior, and his timing as a roller gives him value as a low-usage play finisher.
• Physical Tools: At roughly 6’11” with a 7’2” wingspan and a 9’4” standing reach, Okpara has real NBA center measurements. He also has a strong frame, broad shoulders and enough vertical pop to play above the rim.

Concerns

• Limited Offense: Okpara is not a scorer, shooter or creator. He has flashed some post touch, but his NBA offense will mostly come from lobs, putbacks, rim runs and dump-offs. Rings a Mitch-shaped bell?
• Passing Limitations: His career 56 assists to 129 turnovers is a concern. He can keep the ball moving in simple situations, but he is not a short-roll playmaker or high-post hub right now.
• Pump-Fake Discipline: Okpara can leave his feet too early. That matters against NBA guards and bigs who will bait him into fouls or force him out of position.
• Defensive Composure: He has the tools to defend multiple coverages, but his decision-making is not always consistent. He can get too perimeter-oriented, lose rebounding position or react instead of reading.
• Free Throw Shooting: His touch remains questionable. He shot 63.5% from the line as a senior and has never shown enough shooting growth to project real spacing value.

The Knicks Fit

Okpara’s fit with the Knicks depends almost entirely on what happens with Mitchell Robinson’s free agency.

If Robinson stays and signs a mid-to-long-term deal, Okpara becomes harder to justify with real draft capital, even with the late-second pick. New York would already have Karl-Anthony Towns as the starting center and Robinson as the defensive anchor off the bench for at least the next three or four years while the contending window remains open. That leaves little room for another non-shooting rim-running big man unless the Knicks simply want some developmental dude in the pipeline.

However, if Robinson leaves, Okpara becomes more interesting. He would not replace Robinson’s rebounding and instincts, let alone his playoff experience, but he would give New York a cheap, young center who understands the job description: protect the rim, screen hard, finish lobs and avoid getting into trouble or committing dumb mistakes.

Okpara’s appeal is that his role is extremely defined. Mike Brown could use him as a situational drop or hedge big, pair him with strong perimeter defenders, and let him focus on defense-first minutes while developing with Westchester, then move him up if/when needed.

The problem is obvious, and it’s that Okpara’s offensive limitations are severe, if not making him unplayable at the level the Knicks would require him to perform. He would not space the floor like Henri Veesaar, pass like Joshua Jefferson, or bring the same physical rebounding profile as Tarris Reed Jr. or Morez Johnson Jr., although obviously all of those prospects are ranked higher and expected to leave the board no later than within the first 30 picks.

NBA Comparison

• Best-Case Comparison: Daniel Gafford (Vertical rim runner, shot blocker, hard screener, and low-usage finisher)
• Median Outcome: Jericho Sims (Athletic backup center who screens, rolls, rebounds, and finishes plays)
• Low-End Outcome: Bruno Fernando (Physical reserve big with tools, but limited feel and disastrous offensive output)

The Verdict

Draft him at 55th: Okpara is not a first-round option for the Knicks, and No. 31 would be too rich. New York might know Robinson’s decision before the draft and be desperate for a backup with a traditional defensive center profile, but even then, it’s just too much. At the end of the second round, if that’s the feeling and the Knicks are in love with Okpara, then better grab him than risk losing him to another team with the last five picks or once he becomes a UDFA. Okpara does not bring enough shooting, passing, or offensive versatility to justify any kind of heavy investment.

Read all our draft profiles here.

Go Knicks!

Jalen Brunson’s “SVU” dream is alive and well.

The Knicks star capped off his NBA Finals MVP performance by saying afterward that he wanted to nab a guest star role on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” alongside his friend Mariska Hargitay.

And while the actor is a huge fan of Brunson, her “Law & Order” colleague Christopher Meloni is also on board with the Knicks star getting a shot on the show.

Meloni, who plays detective Elliot Stabler, told TMZ on Friday he was “absolutely” supportive of the idea.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but he’s a world champion, he can do whatever the hell he wants,” Meloni said.

EXCLUSIVE: TMZ Sports caught up with Detective Elliot Stabler himself — Christopher Meloni — out in NYC fresh off the Knicks' championship win this week … and had to ask about Finals MVP Jalen Brunson wanting to show off his acting chops. pic.twitter.com/XgxPPufID0

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) June 20, 2026

The comments come after Hargitay’s presence during the Knicks’ championship run, as she cheered on Brunson and the Knicks as they won the team’s first title since 1973.

Hargitay, who plays detective Olivia Benson on “SVU,” has developed a close friendship with Brunson because of his fandom of the show.

Brunson previously admitted that he looks for her during Knicks home games, and said on the “Richard Jefferson Show” that he does “love her to death [and] she knows it.”

Hargitay and Brunson also shared a touching moment after the Knicks’ incredible Game 4 comeback against San Antonio.

“I love you so much, I’m so happy!” Hargitay said as they shared a hug.

Hargitay and millions of other Knicks fans were able to celebrate a championship a few days later as New York once again erased an early San Antonio lead to win 94-90 in Game 5.

Brunson saved his best performance of the series for last, as he scored 45 points to get the Knicks over the line in a low-scoring affair in Texas.

The All-Star guard has forever etched himself in New York Sports lore, but an “SVU” guest appearance would only add to his growing star even more.